Saviours
by DiscoloredLady
Summary: The Doctor takes Rose to a planet to relax to make up for another of their previous near-death encounters, and the fight between his emotions was driving him crazy as he held her hand with a mask of calmness. He'd be blind not to notice the looks she gave him. Rose saved him from his dark past, now it's his turn to save her, from himself. Rating will go up.
1. Silver Dust

**AN: **_Hello, dears! My first Ten/Rose story. This is unbeta-ed, unedited, and neither was it proofread. Please, please forgive any mistakes. :) As I said in the summary, the rating will go up. Some smut just might be in store for the next chapter/s. :D Still not used to writing for Doctor Who, so, if it's a bit weird or awkward, then you know why. :))_

**Saviours**

**Chapter 1**

She grinned in wonder as the Doctor dragged her by the hand once more into yet another new planet for her to explore, listening to him intently as she clung to his words in hopes of understanding her surroundings. Like many other worlds he had showed her, it was unpopulated, yet to be discovered by the creatures of the vast universe in search of life, of a new home.

Rose tore her eyes from the back of his head to feast her sights with the world so new to her, so full of adventures and discoveries yet to be uncovered. As her gaze drifted around her, the Doctor's voice was suddenly a distant sound in the far side of the universe. Her eyes glistened at what seemed like a fantasy from a fairytale book, too impossible to even be hoped to be true, much less be _real. _

The grasses that grew between the silvern roots of the sturdy tree-like flora were a bold indigo, immediately fading into a light pastel blue as they spread on the soil like patches of the Earth sky. They seemed to glow under the pale golden sky that loomed above their heads, way above the thin forest's tree tops. The tips of each blade of grass glimmered as they swayed in the light breeze that passed them, and some clusters of the light blue were spotted with small lavender flowers with something white and crystal-like in their centers.

The tree-like plants that towered over them were made of smooth white wood, its long branches turning into a darker shade of grey as the leaves that grew from its shadowed tips shimmered into pale silver. Variations of plants, mostly in hues of blue and purple, were scattered around the forest floor in bushes and shrubs as some were adorned with white or orange or violet blooming flowers or speckled with small fruits and berries. Midnight blue vines twisted and curved around branches and stems and trunks, their dark leaves contrasting to the light wood of the woodland flora.

Rose scoffed. Why did she even think this kind of thing wouldn't be possible? With the Doctor, she should've erased those kinds of thoughts a long time ago.

As they trampled across the alien land, clouds of dust flew and floated into the air, shining whenever the light caught it. Without thinking, Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand as she revelled at the sight that would pass as a figment of the imagination in her own home planet. She didn't even notice they had stopped and that the Doctor was standing in front of her, a dazed look in his eyes as he watched her be oblivious to the adoration that his face reflected in his chest, not until he tightened his own hold of her hand back. She brought her eyes back to meet his, and his hearts swelled at her expression.

"It's beautiful, Doctor," she breathed.

"Of course it is," the Doctor chimed. "It's why I took you here. Plus, the berries here make _exquisite _jam!" he said in excitement, unable to keep the thrill from showing in his voice.

Rose rolled her eyes and snorted. She lifted her hand to touch one of the leaves of a nearby tree, hesitating as she did so, and caressed the glowing silver edges and veins as a thought suddenly struck her.

"I'd thought there'd be some native animals here, yeah? What, not even one insect?" she tried to say in a teasing tone, and his hearts leapt as she gave him her tongue-in-teeth grin. The Doctor's mouth twitched upwards as he began to rub the back of her hand, making Rose's breath catch in her throat and struggle to pay attention to whatever explanation he would give her.

"We're scaring them away," he replied with a shrug, turning back to the direction where they were originally headed and tugged at her hand. "Give them a little time. They'll come out soon enough. Full of shy creatures, this planet, except for the plants and all. Oh, these trees and plants _love _to be seen and watched. They do like to put up a show," the Doctor continued with a soft chuckle as the silver linings of the plants twinkled under the soft yellow light.

He spared a glance behind him and all breath escaped his lungs at the look she was giving him from his back. The amusement and joy and other emotions he dared not name that played across her features were enough to make his eyes linger, and he wanted to slap himself when his tongue darted out to wet his lips. By the way her eyes flickered down to his mouth, he knew she noticed.

The Doctor then gruffly turned back straight ahead to where he was taking her and tried to put on a cheery voice. "Right!" he cleared his throat, just to fill in the silence. "So after all the trouble I've put you in lately, I thought I'd take you somewhere you could just relax. No noise, no huge crowds, no predatory creatures and aliens lurking around the corner…" he trailed off when Rose's hand slipped from his, making him turn to face her in confusion. She had her arms crossed across her chest, a frown scrunching up her forehead, and her chin was held high to let her look at him properly as a slight pout formed on her lips, as if what he said had offended and insulted her.

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up to his hairline and he tugged at his ear before shoving his hands into his pockets in a nervous habit. Rose rolled her eyes and huffed in exasperation at his confused expression.

"Doctor, it doesn't matter if there aren't any monster rabbits or poisonous strawberries around. I know _you will_ get us into trouble sooner or later, anyway," she elaborated with a small shake of the head and a grin before trudging out to walk in front of him.

"Hey, I don't always do that!" he defended. "And you know where we're headed, then? We could get lost, you know, with me just letting you lead the way," the Doctor teased from behind her as he watched the back of her head, his footsteps more like skips as a grin spread across his face.

"I think I'm perfectly capable of keeping track of where I am, thank you," Rose answered with a firm nod, her eyes darting in different directions as she drank in everything in sight. "S'not like there's a king here I can 'accidentally' insult and get us thrown into the worst of all dungeons or anything," she grumbled, remembering their last adventure. The Doctor snorted.

"Says Miss Jeopardy-Friendly," he retorted with a smirk. Rose turned to stick her tongue out at him before walking a little bit faster through the trees.

"Come on, Rose, s'why I brought you here!" he said in a slightly whining tone as he increased the pace of his steps to catch up to her. He grabbed her hand in one swift motion and walked alongside her, turning them to walk in a different direction. "I wanted to show you something, and at least here in this planet I can have you all to myself."

Rose held her breath and blinked at his words, letting his words sink in as she turned her head to look at him from the corner of her eye. "Yeah?"

A small warm smile crept at the Doctor's lips and he walked a little closer to her, entwining the fingers of their clasped hands. "Yep!"

**AN:** _What d'you guys think? :D Please leave reviews! You know I'll LOVE 'em._


	2. Pink Sand

**Saviours**

**Chapter 2**

They proceeded to walk in silence, finding comfort in each other's company as they walked hand in hand between the thinning trees and the increasing lengths and quantities of grass. White smooth stones and darker, rough grey rocks alike began to appear, some small, and some big in their own rights. Rose kept her gaze on the ground, watching every little detail in the glimmering weeds and grasses. And just when she was about to direct her eyes skyward, with the golden skies turning darker into orange, then tangerine, to a bright red, she heard something snap. She quickly averted her eyes to look for its source, and she let out a small squeal when she discovered what it was.

"Oh, Doctor, look!" Rose exclaimed. He jolted in surprise at her voice and looked to the direction his Rose was pointing at.

Wait. _His _Rose?

Hold that thought.

"Ah!" he suddenly exclaimed upon landing his eyes on the fluffy creature, approaching it in long strides and picking it up from its sides. He put it up high above his head, observing it with mild concentration. "It's a Wrexilian! These fluffy creatures live in forests near the sea, and believe it or not, they're the equivalent of frogs on Earth. Well, at least the future inhabitants of this planet will view them as human beings do frogs. They dig their homes from between the roots of trees where the soil is moist and warm, and there they store whatever berries they could find." He hummed as he smiled, his tongue touching the roof of his mouth as he watched the creature in his hands, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Rose watching him with a smile of her own, only he couldn't decide who or what she was smiling at.

"Here," he suddenly turned to her, his arms outstretched to give the Wrexilian to Rose, and gingerly, she held it in her arms and cooed.

"Careful," he warned. "That thing could be dangerous." He tapped his nose. "More than meets the eye, that thing is."

Rose looked at the Doctor as if he grew horns on his head, and he moved to push aside the fur near the creature's ears, where there were _actual _small sharp horns.

"Oh that is simply _adorable_!" Rose exclaimed upon seeing the tiny perturbations on the Wrexilian's head. The Doctor's eyebrows rose to his hairline as he watched his companion as she carefully tested the sharpness of the small horns, only for her to gasp as her finger was pricked.

"Are you alright, Rose?" he asked as he was immediately by her side, snatching her hand to examine the small drop of blood that had gathered atop her finger. She rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Doctor, it's nothing." Rose grabbed her hand and sucked on her finger.

The Doctor stared at her mouth as she swirled her tongue around the fingertip from inside of her mouth, and he heard himself gulp. She popped it out from her lips, and she shot him that smile, that grin that always drove him half-mad, as she stuck the tip of her tongue from between her teeth, just to show him that she was okay.

"Doctor?" Rose asked in concern, and it snapped him back to reality.

"Still think it's _simply adorable_?" he imitated the way she said it, waggling his eyebrows, in an attempt to cover his embarrassment that he hoped she didn't notice.

She gave him another priceless smile. "Definitely."

The Doctor blinked before letting himself grin, going back into his giddy and bouncy self, as he retrieved the Wrexilian from her arms and set it down once more before she begged him to let her keep it as a pet, because for all he knew, he'd _let _her. "Right then," he started as he snatched her hand from her side, setting them back into motion. "Let's get going, shall we?"

She laughed, a tinkling sound that filled both his hearts, and he couldn't help the smile that tugged on his lips.

"Hang on," Rose started, breaking the silence that grew around them since they saw the Wrexilian. She swung their clasped hands between their bodies as she let him guide her through the thinning trees, the glimmering leaves fading and diminishing to give way to a glowing golden sky already starting to darken into orange that grew even darker by the second. "You said that the—the—"

"Wrexilian," the Doctor supplied helpfully.

"Yeah, the _Wrexilian_," Rose drew teasingly with her tongue, "lived near the sea. And since a while back, the trees started to lessen quite a lot. That could mean that we're nearing the edge of this forest, and if my nose doesn't lie," she sniffed the air in emphasis and exaggeration, "that _that _smell I smell is the sea."

The Doctor stopped in his tracks, making Rose stop with him, and she gave him a quick smile before excitedly tugging at his arm, walking one step ahead of him as she took his lack of response as a confirmation of her suspicions.

He stared, incredulous, at the back of her head. They were still too far for the human nose to pick up the scent of the sea, probably around a mile away or so. The smell was so different from the Earth's salty water forms, so she just _couldn't _have known that it was the sea, strong nose or not. It was understandable that _he _noticed it, with the superior Time Lord biology and whatnot, so how was it that she—

"So, Doctor," she broke his trail of thought. "This incredible sea that you brought me here to see, what's it got to take my breath away? 's it just as good or is it better than apple grass?" She turned her head to give him a quick look of curiosity with the glint of amusement in her eyes. He returned it with one of his knowing grins.

"A surprise wouldn't be a surprise if I told on it, would it, Rose?"

He saw her smile falter and her eyes drop to his mouth as he carefully drawled on her name, licking his lips and giving her another of his grins for good measure. He shouldn't be doing this, not in the _least _bit, but he couldn't help it. Just to see her blush because of _him_, to see her peek from her back to steal a glance from _him_, oh he would do anything.

Rose cleared her throat and rolled her eyes, setting her eyes firmly on the path ahead of her. "The Doctor, surprise me? But from what I know, he's not very good at it, going about and telling people that there _is _going to be a surprise. Aren't the best surprises kept secrets?"

The Doctor chuckled and kept quiet behind her, letting silence fall as he tightened his hold on her hand, just a little bit, and rubbed circles across the back of her hand that she returned with a squeeze.

* * *

><p>"You've got a whole planet to land your tiny space ship, and I don't know why you thought, 'Oh, well, I'll just park it over a mile away from where we're <em>actually <em>going!'" Rose said in exasperation as they walked.

"Oi, you know perfectly well that my ship is not tiny," the Doctor retorted with a scolding look. "And I had the notion that you'd want to, I dunno," the Doctor grinned, "see it all. And I'm quite sure you like this walking bit."

Rose snorted. "Yeah, if you say so. By the way, what's the occasion? I mean, normally, you'd just set in some coordinates and ramble on about where you're taking me, and you'd _still _be rambling even _while _we're there already, but you're just so quiet for this one." She poked at his arm. "I know you said that you're trying to make up for what happened back in _those dungeons_, but it's never been like this whenever you tried to make up for something you've gotten us into."

"What, has there got to be a reason for me to surprise my very own companion?" the Doctor smiled. She looked at him, a thoughtful expression gracing her features.

"I don't know. You tell me."

He simply walked a little closer to her, if that was even possible, and let her muse over her thoughts.

There wasn't any reason, really, so he couldn't actually give her one. Fine, maybe he _did _have one, namely that reason pertaining to him being an idiot and this was his way of apologising, because he was sorry, and because he wanted to see her smile that brilliant smile… But there was no way he was going to tell her that was there?

"Oh, Doctor," he heard her breath hitch as he stared at their feet, lost in his thoughts.

"Hm?" he frowned at Rose, tightening his hand around hers all the more as she started to loosen hers. She looked ahead, a mesmerised look in her eyes, and pointed in front of her.

"Is that it?" she asked, awe evident in her voice.

He looked ahead to see what she was pointing at. "Yep!" he answered with a bounce in his step, popping the "p" sound with his mouth.

"Well hurry up, then," his beautiful, glowing flower said as she walked ahead of him, tugging at his hand for him to move faster. "We haven't got all day, since it looks like there's less than an hour of it!"

He chuckled as they ran through the last distances of forest land until they reach its edge, Rose's laugh echoing throughout the leaves and pale branches.

"It's _beautiful_, Doctor," she breathed, and with a joyous and triumphant shout, she burst through the silver and blue trees and shrubs and ran across the sands, the fine grains vast in its expanse as pale and pink as roses. She reached for her feet and threw her shoes behind her, leaving the Doctor grinning behind her to follow her example.

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: _Hello, dearies! Sorry that it took me, um, a while to update this story. :s I struggle writing Ten. Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoy it! There's still about two or three more chapters (probably three) to add to this story, so please be patient. Heheheh, I actually don't know what I'm doing with this. Well, actually, I _do _know, but I just don't know _why_. Rating will go up _probably_ by the next chapter. Unbeta-ed, unedited, so please forgive any mistakes spotted. Enjoy, and never hesitate to leave reviews! :D You know I _love _them._


	3. Raining Stars

**Saviours**

**Chapter 3**

The Doctor rolled up his sleeves and trousers as he grinned like the idiot he is, watching Rose wander about by the seashore. The starlight that illuminated the planet was almost as golden as the Earth's sun, and it lighted the pale pink sands, making it seem to glow beneath her feet. She set her eyes back on the forest she left, watching how the yellow light rested on the silver leaves and the deep blue vines, the scene easily reflected in her watchful hazel eyes.

She set her gaze farther off into the distance, taking in all the landscapes her eyes could see: far off, the woodland slanted up, higher and steeper, until it ended as a cliff covered in light blue and deep indigo, as if trying to reach up for the deepening of the golden sky. Farther off, on the other side of the immense waters, the vast plains of blue stretched on, past the horizon where the eyes can see, and it was speckled with patches of the forest, glimmering and shining under the fading light. The grasses swayed with the winds that thread its fingers through the fine strands on the ground, letting them free to the sky above, reaching, in slow movements as their tips try to pierce the above.

At last, she let her eyes rest on what he brought her here to see: the planet's sunset, just before twilight sets upon the alien soils, as the young star illuminates the crystal clear waters of the seascape. He heard her gasp as she approached the edge, clearly seeing the more vibrant pink pebbles beneath as the light struck through the sea and bounced off the almost fuchsia seabed, making the crystalline waters glow all the more. She could see very clearly the pastel violet and green and blue creatures swimming in the seawater, and they glided and drifted among the waves like a dance.

"It's a bay, actually," the Doctor said softly as he approached her, as not to break her reverie. "It's connected to its vast waters, which is, at the moment, basically just one, if you don't count the lakes and rivers and waterfalls and whatnot." He felt her eyes move from the horizon with the graceful sea creatures moving in the clear waters beneath it to settle on him as he explained, and he let his own gaze settle on hers as she tried to drink in whatever explanation he would provide her.

"If you think about it, this planet is actually quite similar to your own, only the chemical composition of most of the things here," he gestured to the place around him, "is different, hence the blue grass, silver leaves, pink sand and everything else." She smiled her tongue-in-teeth smile, and he paused for a moment to relish the sight of it.

"Its history won't be much different, not until the dominant inhabitants of this planet will finally evolve, at least. Tectonic plates and such, plates will drift apart… you know the rest. Then the Arrotatorius civilisation will rise, with their pale grey skin and golden hair, and they'll build empires and great cities that will last for millenniums, and like you humans," he stopped to grin at her, "they will reach amongst the stars, and they'll spread throughout galaxies. Granted, they're faster in technological advancements." Rose elbowed him with a smirk on her lips, which he only returned with a sad smile. "But they were faster to die out. Humans, they last until the very end of time."

He drifted off with that, leaving Rose to stare at him blankly as he forced himself to look back unto the seascape, trying to hide a gulp.

"It sounds so beautiful," she settled on saying. "But it's so sad. They won't be forgotten, though, will they?" She never left her eyes on him, not one moment as she waited for his answer. "Everyone's so busy saving themselves. All the years that will come, all that history… is there anyone who's going to look?"

He couldn't help it. His eyes were drawn to her glassy orbs, her words almost echoing those she said back then, when they had first met in his ninth body, to the first adventure he really took her to show just how impressive he was. She stood with her eyes, glazed as they were right now, glued to where her planet stood exploding and her star expanding, and she did not lament on her planet reaching its end. She mourned not for the loss of her home, but that no one was there to see it, to be its company in its last moments, as a last salute for the life it sustained.

And right now, offering his hand and holding hers doesn't seem enough.

He took her in his arms, sweeping her into his embrace that she returned tightly, trying to show her that everything is alright, that everything _will _be alright, and that he would protect her. With her face pressed to his shoulder, he whispered into her hair, echoing, too, his words before. "Come with me."

She looked back at him through those long lashes, a watery smile on her lips, and she nodded, letting him brisk her away to the wonders of the universe.

They walked and treaded on the shallow waters, his arms still around her and one of her own wound around his waist. Her eyes remained on the setting star, enchanted with the waters glowing golden with the pink soils beneath it that supported the sea life it contained. The soft waves glided across their feet, warm and comforting as they reflected the light, and they reached a cove beneath the cliff.

He helped her climb the rocks that perturbed beneath the crystallised stalactites, so similar to that of the Earth's. She sat on a smooth, flat, pale pink rock near the entrance, the Doctor sitting down beside her, and she eyed the twisting and gnarling deep blue vines that clung to the mouth of the cove. Large white petals and small flowers alike grew from the indigo veins of the earth, exuding drops of white liquid from their nectars that set off a fragrance. Behind her, the pink rocks and walls grew deeper in hue and colour, until the darkness swallowed all of colour.

Rose let herself focus on the view in front of her, and she took the Doctor's hand in her tight grip, and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"Its dusk," he announced moments later as the waters dimmed. "The sunsets here are brilliant, but the night is just as much, too." He let himself wear a lazy smile as he looked over to her, and she glanced at him before setting her eyes off once more into the distance with her lips curled upwards to match his own.

"And I don't want to miss a moment of it," she whispered.

He outstretched his arms in invitation, his grin never-wavering, and she saw from the corner of her eye. She accepted with a chuckle and she laid her head on his lap instead of letting him cradle her in his embrace. The Doctor raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, but smiled still, and as he watched her adjust her position on the rock and on his thighs, he draped his arm across her waist and stomach. He felt her pause in her breath for a moment, but then she laid her fingers atop his as he began to rub circles on her belly.

Silence fell between them, as well did the darkness, as the skies above their heads succumbed into a deepening red. But as the dark descended and the yellow gold star sunk deeper into the clear waters, it revealed the stars that hid behind the veil of light, so very different from the constellations and asterisms seen from her home planet. The distant massive balls of burning gas grew brighter and brighter against a red sky almost black, as the crystalline waters below it shone like rolling diamonds on a vast expanse of rose quartz grains. The patches of forest seemed to burn beneath the stars as the Earth's moonlight burns, and the sea of blue grass beyond looked as if glowing with the light they seeped into their veins from the star of their solar system.

She shifted her head from the horizon to look above her head and unto the glimmering stars. The Doctor looked to steal a glance down at her and looked back at the waters, but he saw her smile from the bottom of his vision, and he knew he was caught.

"There're so many stars here, with so many colours," she breathed. And when he opened his mouth to reply, she grinned with her tongue between her teeth.

"No, don't you dare. I got this one," she said as she pointed at him with her finger to stop him from explaining anything. She hummed as she looked back at the stars in thought. "No civilisation yet, no technology, so there're no torches or streetlamps to block out the stars?" she guessed, and looked back up at him with a thoughtful expression. He gave her a triumphant smile.

"Yep!" he said, giving a brief tickle to her side. She squealed and batted his hand away, squirming a bit on his lap. He couldn't help smiling down at her as she beamed up at him, and he felt his insides warm up.

"Come on, then," she said, standing up and offering her hand. He sent a confused expression to her hand, and she let her tongue peek from the side of her mouth.

"I bet there's a better view if we move out from the inside of this cave-thing, right? Thought we were going to make the most of it, then!" He grabbed her hand at that and she led him out of the cove, sitting down on another flat stone and patted the space beside her. He plopped down as soon as she retrieved her hand from his spot, and grinned as she lied back down on her lap. She let her eyes drift back onto the sky, burning with all those infinite number of stars, and began to hum a tune. The Doctor's eyebrows lifted to his hairline.

"_And stars fell on Alabama last night,_" he sang along with her tune, his voice low and soft, watching as her eyes lighted as he recognised the tune.

"Didn't realise you'd know that," she smiled. He rolled his eyes at her as he reached for her hand, clasping her smaller one with his.

"Over nine hundred years old, Rose," he reminded her as he started rubbing circles on her wrist. "Who would have known that _you _listened to jazz?" The Doctor raised his other hand and started to stroke her hair, and her eyelids lowered as she leaned into his touch. It was like he was possessed, really. Why in the world was he doing this?

"Found a record of it a couple of years ago, hidden inside some boxes," she muttered. She frowned when he paused in his ministrations with her hair, relaxing only when he continued caressing her golden strands. "My dad's, apparently. Was curious." Her eyelids became heavier and heavier, until they shut closed, obviously please as the Doctor stroked her with his hands.

They let moments tick by, and he couldn't get his gaze off of her, losing track of his sense of time and of the world around him. Rose's lips parted, only the slightest bit, and he couldn't help licking his own, if not leaning his face closer to hers just a little.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open, and she grinned up at him as she inhaled deeply. He jolted his head away and stopped his hands, confused by her… excitement.

"What's it?" he inquired.

She sniffed the air, taking a moment before answering. "Don't you smell it?"

"Smell what?" he asked, his tone cautious. She'd never smelled anything before he did. Ever.

Her eyes remained on the sky, and her silence unnerved him a little. He let his gaze fall skyward, and his jaw slackened as fast-moving clouds approached their direction. He looked back down at Rose, incredulous.

A drop of water landed on her cheek, making her smile stretch even wider.

"Rain."

* * *

><p>Rose leapt up and twirled on the suddenly slippery rock, making the Doctor yelp as he panicked at her slipping from its surface. To his relief, she sat back down, pressed to his side, as she revelled on the fantastic view.<p>

It was as if falling stars fell from the sky, burning as the atmosphere turned them into specks of shining jewels. The rain fell upon them in a gentle shower, but it instantly made them dripping wet. Yet the pink and yellow human at his side didn't seem to mind.

"Careful there," he scolded her as he held her wet body closer to his, wrapping his arms around her waist and moving to sit behind her with his legs on either side of hers. He was doing this to prevent her from moving any more and causing any more trouble, he told himself. Of course; what other reason would be there? He tucked her head under his chin, doing his best not to press his nose against her hair and neck. He felt her breath hitch as she shivered and stiffened for a while in his embrace, only for her to slowly melt in it seconds later. She leaned back on his chest, resting her own arms on his. "You could slip and hit your head there," he continued after a while, tightening his hold on her a little bit more, as if protecting her.

"We should get in the cove," he told her into her ear, making his voice loud over the rain. Rose pouted as he moved to lead her undercover, stopping him by putting her hand on his arm.

"Why? But I want to stay here," she breathed out the last word, the wonder evident in her voice as she held out her hand and caught droplets from the rainfall.

"You could still get sick, you know. This planet still being similar to yours and all," he reminded her.

She snuggled a little closer into him, if that were even possible, and he heard her elicit a sigh that seemed to spell out her contentment.

"What's a little cold? And besides," she answered him and looked back to turn her face to his, their lips oh-so-very-close, and she shot him a cheeky grin, making his hearts stop in his chest. "I've got a doctor."

They sat there, under the glimmering rain, and they watched in wonder as the droplets splashed on the clear waters, making it gleam all the more, and some of the creatures in the sea leapt up and danced midair, falling back into the waters in grace.

Soon, the rain fell more softly on their heads, until they couldn't feel it at all. Finally, they could see the fast-moving clouds drift further away from them, and in mere minutes, it was out of sight as it disappeared from the horizon.

Their eyes stayed on each other, and he watched as her eyes drifted to his lips. Her mouth parted and licked her lips, biting it as her gaze flicked from his eyes to his mouth. She leaned ever so slightly closer to him, and she tilted her head a little to the side.

He sat there with his arms wrapped around Rose, his breaths shallow and quick, and he wasn't quite sure of what to do next till she faced to the side and sneezed, and then start to shiver in his embrace.

The Doctor was up on his feet in an instant, pulling Rose up with him. She yelped as she was led from the rocks and back on to the shallow gentle waves of the waters, then her feet dug into the damp, darkened pink sands from the recent rain.

"Where're we going?" she asked as they walked with the Doctor's arms still around her.

"Back to the TARDIS," he answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. He sighed. "You humans; you catch a cold so fast, you lot."

•

The Doctor made her jump into a hot shower and go to bed upon reaching the TARDIS, giving her a disgusting glass that looked and tasted like urine that, according to him, was "better than any pill".

When she had refused to go to bed after half an hour of his insistent prodding, he had dragged her to her door and tucked her into her bed himself, which, admittedly, was feeling quite comfortable at the moment.

"You need to rest," the Doctor mumbled under his breath, exaggerated as Rose had been difficult and had refused to comply with his orders that really were for the betterment of her health.

"What's wrong, Doctor?" she asked, frowning, as she lifted herself a little bit from her bed, letting her elbows support her weight. "I've been through worse before, worse than a _cold_. I almost died a couple, no, _a lot _of times and you've never made this big a fuss over it," she asked suspiciously. He sat on a chair by her bed, a defeated look on his face, his back slumped, and her heart clenched at the sight.

"What're you not telling me, Doctor?" she asked, reaching out with her hand as she stroked his cheek and followed the line of his jaw with her fingertips. "What's wrong?"

He leaned into her touch for a moment, just a very brief moment, before gingerly taking it with his own, and placed a gentle kiss on her palm. Her breath hitched as she watched him, and he put her hand to rest on the duvet above her stomach.

"Rest, Rose," he said softly as he stood and strode out the room, pausing only for a few moments by the door, looking at her with those eyes that held emotions she just couldn't place. "Rest."

* * *

><p>She let herself toss and turn under her duvet for the better part of an hour or two, before she finally fell asleep. It wasn't long, though, till she woke up again, and she couldn't take it anymore.<p>

She tossed over the sheets that covered her body and slid her feet in her slippers, feeling herself if she was a little too warm or _something_. When she found nothing, she shrugged, and chalked it up to another of Doctor's very effective concoctions.

Rose stood up and sneezed again. Alright, maybe not as effective as she initially thought.

She walked over her door and opened it, careful not to make it creak, and poked her head out to check either side of the corridor for any sign of the Doctor. She wrinkled her nose. He probably would reprimand her with his most commanding voice that she should go back to bed if he found her up, since she was sick.

Her soft footfalls echoed on the ship's walls as she had one destination in mind, the TARDIS leading her through her corridors, to the place where she went to find her first Doctor at times.

Breathing in deeply, she took in the smell of old and new books alike as she padded into the TARDIS library, letting her eyes sweep across the vast expanse of books and other of the Doctor's collections. She walked past shelves of books, going deeper into the library, and didn't stop until the very end of it, which took her quite a while to get there. She went behind one of the larger bookshelves in the room, entering a dark area lit only by an already warm fireplace.

The TARDIS laid out a fuzzy rug and a heaping of pillows for her on by the fire, and peeking in the pile was a thick TARDIS blue blanket.

She smiled at the ceiling, mumbling a "thanks" as she trudged to the comfortable-looking rug, lying down with a sigh as she wrapped herself around the blanket. She let herself sink into the soft pillows, letting out another breath of contentment.

She had lain their for god knows how long, and she felt herself begin to drift as the heat radiating from the fireplace seeped through the thick fabric around her and warmed her to her bones, only to jolt awake when a voice ran out from somewhere behind her.

"Getting comfy there seems like it," the Doctor said softly, but his voice echoing loudly and bounced off the walls, nonetheless. Rose turned to and watched him plop down into the pillows beside her, his tie and jacket missing, with a mug of steaming tea in his hand. He had a sheepish expression directed to her, and offered her the mug. She smiled at him to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about, graciously accepting the mug with a thanks and blowing at the hot beverage with her fingers curled around the ceramic.

"Why's it that you're here, then?" he asked her as he sank into the cushions beside her, their arms pressed against each other, and she moved closer to him. Rose gave a small shrug.

"Dunno. You used to come here a lot before in your previous body, yeah? Used to find you here more often than not, if you weren't out tinkering with the console. I don't think I've shaken off the habit of coming here." She smiled, her eyes glimmering in the firelight as she reminisced on memories not so long ago. "You used to read to me, I remember."

"We could still do that, if you want to, you know," he answered as he smiled down at her. She nodded, sipping at her tea as she looked back at him.

The silence that fell between them was comfortable, and she decided to break it.

"Will you tell me what a while ago all was about, then?"

He broke his stare and settled it on the fire, the flames reflecting on his brown orbs as his jaw clenched. She caught his hand with her own, laying her mug down on one of the nearby tables, then sat in front of him with the blue blanket still wrapped around her.

"Come on, out with it."

**AN:** _Hey guys! I've updated with a longer chapter (not long enough, though) in less than a week since the last to make up for neglecting this story for over a month. I'm so, so sorry for leaving it with a cliffhanger. I'll try to update as fast as I can, though, so you guys wouldn't have to wait so long for what happens next!_

_Unbeta-ed, not proofread, so please forgive any mistakes that will be noticed. Please leave reviews! :)_


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